The Perils Of Daphne And Velma
by RussM
Summary: Are they damsels? Possibly. Are they in distress? Most definitely. But will they realise this before it's too late? Well you'll just have to read it to find out. Follows on from Shaggy and Velma Get a Clue or Two.
1. Just Another Day at The Office

(A/N: This is the forth in a series of 5 stories that started with The Snack Strikes Back. If is best to go back and read from the beginning as some bits might not make much sense otherwise)

Daphne and Velma clung to each other in fear as the villain approached; they had taken a wrong turn and were now trapped down a dead-end ally. To make matters worse the boys were nowhere near to help them. The villain pointed a fire-extinguisher like device at them "Keep that pose, I will call it 'Fear Personified' when I turn you into living statues with this" and squeezed the trigger. At the last second the girls pushed each other out of the way of the foam which just splattered harmlessly over the wall behind them. They then sprinted for the alley exit; there was still hope of escape.

The girls passed each side of the villain ducking down to keep out of reach. When the got a short way behind him there was a buzzing noise and two coffin size cages came up from the floor and shut like a clamshell around each of them, Both frantically tried to free themselves as he slowly walked towards them laughing at their distress. They turned around as best as they could.

"Please let us go, please don't keep us like this" begged Velma

"Beg as much as you like, you have already sealed your fate" he gloated

"Please don't hurt us, we won't try to escape any more" pleaded Daphne

"Escape? Ha! You have no hope of escape, but it is not you who will be in any peril, yet. For I have the most exquisite trap prepared, for that I need the most exquisite bait, and that is were you two choice morsels come in my dears. You will not only have the honour of being the bait in the most ingenious trap of all time but also the privilege of a ring-side seat at my greatest triumph! Mwahahahaha!" he raved theatrically

_As mad as a bag of spanners_ thought Velma

They meekly allowed themselves to be bound hand and foot before their cages were placed face down in what they were informed was a soundproof van. Both girls screamed for help as the door was shut, the villain allowed himself a satisfied chuckle as their cries were silenced mid-scream when the door was closed. When the door was locked and the van was in motion Daphne winked to Velma who winked back in return, so far things were going exactly to plan.

Daphne and Velma had just been captured by one of the strangest villains the gang had ever met, the Devious Damsel Distresser, known to the gang as 3D. His main stock-in-trade was the kidnapping and ransoming heiresses after putting them in unusual, but very real, peril. He had once attempted to kidnap the entire Miss Coolsville beauty pageant but was thwarted at the last minute by the gang. This was all a sideshow compared to his main aim, the heiress Jennifer Pitlane, an heiress whose fortune was so vast that it made Daphne's look like small change. The girls had been commissioned to train Jennifer in everything they knew about avoiding and getting out of trouble. This had worked too well from 3D's point of view so he had decided to take a different track which is how Daphne and Velma found themselves on the way to be used as bait to lure Jennifer Pitlane to her doom. They had been taken back to his lair where each had been gagged and re-tied to separate columns in his control room. Huge monitors fed back pictures from around the house of the various corridors, rooms and traps. As they expected, 3D described how they would be more than just window dressing.

"So my dear morsels of bait this is what will happen. I have left enough clues that the accursed Pitlane will find you. Awaiting her are a plethora of traps and devices, but they if they fail then you will get your starring role. As soon as he come in you will be sealed in clear airtight tubes. She will have the choice, to surrender or watch you two slowly asphyxiate."

_Oh joy_ thought Daphne _not again._

Since arriving both had had made much of attempting, and failing, to free themselves which was accompanied by what they felt was an appropriate amounts of mumphing through their gags as befit their situation. In reality both had all but freed themselves within half and hour of being tied to the columns, but immediate escape was not part of the plan. And soon enough the main event kicked-off, right on schedule.

"Yes, yes, here she comes, just as I had planned" said 3D rubbing his hands in glee as Jennifer entered the house, the image on the screens zoomed in on the figure. 3D pushed a big button marked "Arm Traps" he turned to face the girls "And so the show begins!" he exclaimed, Daphne turned her head and closed her eyes. It sounded like Daphne was crying "Do not weep; this is a time to rejoice. For I am victorious!" shouted 3D _I'm not weeping_, she thought and sought to focus her mind on other things, ironing socks... no, counting the boxes of Scooby Snacks in the house... no, one of Velma's monologues on ice-hockey... that'll do. She was glad she was gagged otherwise she'd have definitely given the game away by now. _Mustn't look at the monitor, mustn't give the game away… _

Daphne stole a quick glance at Velma, she was gazing longingly at the monitor, her eyes hungrily devouring every movement of the figure on the screen, her chest rapidly rising and falling, _you have got it so bad_ thought Daphne. Despite her protestations to the contrary, Daphne suspected that at times Velma secretly relished being in need of rescue, but only when a certain person was doing the rescuing. Jennifer avoided trap after trap much to the annoyance of 3D and the obvious excitement of Velma who sighed with delight at the thought of her imminent rescue. Daphne heard a tapping noise, looked up, nodded and grunted at Velma until she had her attention cast her eyes upwards and nodded.

"Here she comes, take a deep breath my dears it may have to last you a lifetime" exclaimed 3D as he prepared for the final showdown.

At that moment Jennifer burst into the control room her pose silhouetted by the light from the corridor, reflected light accenting features on her face "Let my friends go" she thundered then gazed at Velma who nearly fainted with the pleasure of the moment.

3D faced Jennifer. He pressed a button and tow clear plastic tubes rose up to encase the columns holding Daphne and Velma, 3D took a deep breath then drew himself up into a pose suitable for delivering a 'surrender of your friends perish' speech when he was interrupted by Jennifer

"Like, man you're out of luck. They split a while ago" she said

3D turned around to see two columns encased in clear plastic, two _empty_ columns.

"What?" he shouted angrily "How?"

3D turned back to Jennifer who was currently engaging Velma in a passionate kiss "You were wonderful to watch" whispered Velma breathlessly as she gazed devotedly at Jennifer "That was one of your best rescue entrances _ever._" It was clear that Velma was completely oblivious to her surroundings, all her attention was focussed on Jennifer, 3D was stunned. Velma was overacting, but only slightly. Daphne smiled, she didn't begrudged Velma when she behaved this way just after being rescued as she'd snap out of it as soon as it was necessary. She also found it quite touching as it reminded her of the early times she had been rescued by Fred and the effect that had had on her. And, as intended, 3D looked suitably disconbobulated.

To his credit he recovered quickly and was just starting to compose himself for a 'now I have you where I _really_ want you' speech when he heard the sound of people landing on the floor behind him, one of which landed with a quiet 'relp!' He turned to see to see Fred, Shaggy and a slightly dazed Scooby facing him. "Game's up 3D"said Fred.

3D looked back to see Daphne, Velma and Jennifer advancing on him. He launched himself at Jennifer but was knocked to the floor when Velma cannoned into him and the two skidded across the floor. This unfortunately knocked Velma's glasses out of place temporarily disorientating her "My glasses!" she shouted. Before 3D could take advantage of Velma's temporary helplessness Fred, Scooby and Shaggy were after him. Daphne and Jennifer got Velma to her feet, the trio then headed to his control centre and Velma sat down and began to work on the securing the computers whist Jennifer and Daphne stood guard. 3D, on seeing Velma at his computers, let out a cry of anguish and made a run for her. Jennifer stood directly in front of Velma whist Daphne ran to meet him readying a sturdy right-hook. At the last second 3D pulled out a small container of statue spray and sprayed it over Daphne who was instantly frozen to the spot. He was just about to take hold of her when he was hit in the face by two small objects which exploded into dust. 3D gasped for air and clawed at his eyes "Powdered 5 Skull Fire Sauce to the rescue" shouted Jennifer holding a catapult.

In despair 3D reached inside his coat and pulled out a remote control. He fumbled with the control and pushed a button. A clear plastic tube came down above Velma, before anyone could react she was sucked up into the tube, all they heard was a receding "Jinkies!" 3D screamed in anger "Nooooo, wrong button! This is so unfair!" he pushed another button and a tube descended above him and he was sucked up, Jennifer dashed under the tube and was sucked up a few seconds later.

"I guess they are heading to the garage" shouted Shaggy

"Yeah, this way" shouted Fred "Scooby guard Daphne"

"Rokay" replied Scooby who made a great show of being on guard next to Daphne

The rest set off, Daphne simply stared in frustration at an empty room, and then at Scooby who settled down at her feet for a nap as soon as the others had gone.

In the garage things were going badly for 3D, Velma had got into his van, wound up the windows and locked the doors. She was sitting in the driver's seat quietly reading a book she had found, much to the acute annoyance of 3D who pounded on the window demanding to be let in. In response Velma put down her book, stuck her tongue out at him, turned on the radio and returned to reading the book whilst jingling the keys in his direction. All of which caused 3D to become incandescent with rage. The sudden appearance of Jennifer, catapult at the ready, was the last straw and he leapt onto moped and swerved out the garage. A couple more pellets hit him and he careened out of control down downhill and into a small river.

Velma was just getting out of the van when the gang arrived. "Couldn't stop him Fred, he ended up in the river down there" said Jennifer as she took hold of Velma "Man, you really had him going nuts, I though he was going to explode" she said to her.

"No time for that you two we've got to get back and un-statue Daphne" said Fred

They got back to the control room to find that Daphne had begun to free herself. Fred and Shaggy helped her out whilst Jennifer and Velma went back to the computer. Jennifer held onto the console whilst Velma finished her work.

"All done here. Some of the files are encrypted, but I have recovered most of the key which will make my job much easier. It's a shame that we didn't get him but at least we have his lair"

"Finally! Now can someone _please_ get me out of this corset" asked Jennifer as she removed her face mask to reveal Shaggy underneath "Man, this thing seriously cramps my style"

The other Shaggy laughed and removed his disguise to reveal Jennifer who shook her hair free "Don't know what was worse, Shaggy. Forcing you into that corset or forcing myself to eat like you for a while. Still it looks like that was 3D's last roll of the dice." She turned to Daphne and Velma "You two made excellent teachers. The Pitlane foundation is very grateful for your help. The Devious Damsel Distresser won't be distressing me or anyone else again."


	2. An Allotrope of Carbon For Each of You

So far the past few months had been a total blur for everyone. It started with the closure brought about by the arrest of the leader of the gang that had almost killed Velma. Then there was the huge volume of cases. The weather had been quite foggy and murky for much of autumn and winter and this seemed to bring all the kooks and loons out of the woodwork. On top of all that there was the commission from the Pitlane Foundation, one unexpected benefits of which was that Shaggy and Velma were able to replace the auto-disassembling History Machine. As ever the subject of holidays came up, the girls were delighted to find that Fred and Shaggy were determined to find a mystery free holiday for them all this year. They didn't give their efforts much chance of success not if past holidays were anything to go by, but were so glad they were trying. A few of months later the girls found out the holiday the boys had been planning

Velma's morning

It was the beginning of spring; one Saturday Velma was taking part in an out-of season ice-hockey friendly. She was a bit disappointed that Shaggy couldn't attend but he had gone down with a head-cold that morning. She'd been at the rink all morning and by the end of the match was in a hurry to leave, she wanted to check on Shaggy, and the house. Fred and Daphne were off having a picnic and had left Scooby in charge, she was beginning to doubt the wisdom of that decision. Velma was surprised and a bit annoyed when over the tannoy it was announced that there was to be a special presentation and she was asked to go to the centre of the rink.

"What now" she muttered under her breath as she headed to the centre. When she arrived she noticed that everyone else had moved well away Looking around she could see an unusual number of people that she knew in the audience that day which made her feel even worse. _This is so embarrassing_ she thought

A taller than usual team mascot skated towards her but appeared to be carrying nothing. The mascot skated up to her and removed its fake head to reveal Shaggy underneath

"What are..." she started to say, her eyes wide with surprise

"Shhh" he replied putting his finger on her lips. For Velma the rest of the world simply disappeared when he went down on one knee and produced a small box which opened to reveal a diamond ring, the diamond had a hint of orange. She gasped slightly; she had mentioned this ring once to Daphne. Shaggy looked up into her eyes "Velma..." She had a choice, to say yes or to beat him round the head with her hockey stick for embarrassing her so much, then a thought struck her, there was a third option... As soon as Shaggy placed the ring on her finger, she held up her hand and the crowd went wild. Only after the ring was well and truly on her finger and safely under her glove did she then set after him with her hockey stick, delivering a few well aimed swipes at his backside by way of revenge. The crowd laughed and cheered and she was egged on by the other players. She finally cornered him and pushed him down then pinned him to the ice "Norville Rogers, if you ever embarrass me like that to me again I'll..." Shaggy pulled her down for a long passionate kiss so he never found out what would happen to him. She soon found out that that wasn't the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her, that was the ribbing she received from the rest of her team in the ladies changing room, Daphne, she concluded, was an amateur when it came to innuendo.

On the way home Shaggy got a text message which he seemed very happy with but wouldn't say what it was or who it was from. Velma wanted to speak to Daphne but Shaggy wouldn't let her. _Just as well, I can barely think at the moment let alone speak coherently_ she thought.

Daphne's morning

Daphne had expected to be dragged along to watch Velma play ice-hockey but had been pleasantly surprised when Fred told here that they were going out on a picnic in the woods instead. The only downside was that Shaggy seemed to have a bad head cold but Scooby was adamant that he would look after him. Velma was unsure but neither wanted to cancel their plans and Shaggy was insistent that they went, he was sure he would be OK, for a few hours at least. Shaggy helped load up the Mystery Machine and waved them off whilst Velma had been picked-up earlier by one of her friends.

For an hour or so she and Fred walked hand-in-hand through the woods enjoying the simple please of being alone together. That it was the beginning of spring made it all the more better. Fred made sure they went at a gentle pace which she appreciated given how much they had been rushing around the past few months. He even picked some flowers for her along the way, this was so much better than watching Velma pulverise people on the rink. They began to head back to get the food when she heard Fred complain

"Well, will you look at that" he said, obviously a bit annoyed

"What's wrong Fred?" she replied

"Someone has left some glasses by that tree, guess they must have forgotten them, I'll take them back and put them in the bin. We don't want anyone getting hurt" he said Daphne nodded in agreement.

A short while later Fred spoke up again "More litter, someone has left a small bottle on the ground. Hey, it's Champaign but still sealed and cold. I guess they must have a hole in their picnic basket" he laughed, "Better add it to the glasses"

This was all very considerate of Fred, but she hoped he didn't stop to pick-up every bit of litter they found on the way. Daphne soon realised that they were not heading back in the direction of the van.

"Freddie, are you sure we are going in the right direction, I don't think the car-park is this way" she asked. It looked like Fred and Shaggy had made a good picnic and she didn't want it to be ruined.

They came out of the woods into a small clearing. There in dappled shade was a table already laid for two, with two chairs and their picnic basket.

"Picnic time Daph" he said gently kissing her cheek

"Wow, Fred this is such a nice surprise" replied Daphne trying to think of how this had been done.

Daphne enjoyed one of the best picnics ever; it was in a beautiful secluded spot, with the sounds and smell of spring hanging in the air. Fred could be a real softy at times; this was just the kind of thing that she loved. There were strawberries and cream to finish with, she didn't think they had any in the house; Fred had outdone himself this time.

"Well, no point in letting this goes to waste" he said getting out the bottle he had found and handing her a glass

"Are you sure" she said taking the glass

"Yes but we'll need a reason to open this bottle" he said

"Like what Fre…" she said checking the glass to see if it was clean

"Daphne?" he said, she felt him take her left hand then gently kiss it, she turned to find him on one knee, holding her hand with his right hand and with his left hand behind his back. He brought his hand round to reveal a small black box which he opened to reveal a diamond ring, the same ring she had mentioned to Velma many times

"ddie..." she squeaked holding her free hand to her face, her eyes open wide with surprise and delight.

Fred looked into her eyes "Daphne…" he began

Daphne didn't walk back to the Mystery Machine, she floated. She did notice that Fred was fiddling around with his phone, yet he would not let her use hers, she just had to get a message to Velma, the hockey match should be over by now. Before she knew it they were pulling into the drive at home as she got out of the van she could see Shaggy and Velma's pick-up in the distance with Shaggy driving which was odd as he had quite a bad cold this morning. When she got inside, she dimly registered that there seemed to be a lot of food around the house all of sudden.

Shaggy and Velma got home not long after Mystery Machine had pulled into the drive. Velma dashed inside to find Daphne trying, but failing to work her phone. Daphne looked up the see Velma sporting the biggest grin she had ever seen. They faced each other and almost mirror like held out their hands to reveal the rings

"Shag... just" said Velma

"Fred... just" said Daphne

"No!" said Velma in surprise

"No!" said Daphne in surprise

The was a long pause as each tried to think of something else to say, finally Velma spoke

"Jinkies!" That was the best she could come up with as rational articulate Velma had long since decided that its services would not be required for the immediate future.

When they had finally got them voices back under some control they sat on the sofa and went through in meticulous detail what had happened to them that day. This was helped by a couple of glasses of chilled Champaign, which appeared, as if by magic, in their hands, which was strange as they didn't keep Champaign in the house. Fred and Shaggy were off celebrating as well, the smell of food now filled the house, they were off cooking up a storm with the barbecue and in kitchen but why they were making so much food? Less than and hour later the girls had their answer when their parents and friends arrived, all bearing presents and cards. To their shock, horror, surprise and delight the girls found out that this was no coincidence, Fred and Shaggy had been planning this for weeks and it seemed that everyone else knew about it except them, even when they had been used to find out about the engagement ring the other most wanted.

Both of them floated around the house in a bit of a daze for a few days and Velma couldn't stop grinning, but finally the phone rang and they were off on another case. A while later they had one of the best jobs to do, Daphne and Velma were asked to review a Heirs and Heiresses Self Defence (HHSD) course, run by the Pitlane Foundation itself no less. They leapt at the chance, a job where there was no mystery, monsters or bad-guys involved, guaranteed.


	3. The Truth Will Out

It was the day before the training course. Daphne had noticed that for several days Velma had appeared troubled by something. She waited until Velma was working alone in her lab before speaking to her.

"What's up Velms? You look troubled, is there anything wrong between you and Shaggy?" she asked in a concerned voice

"Aside from his corny one-liners, no we're good. It's nothing to do with Shaggy, I can't quite put my finger on it but this troubles me" she said holding up the book she found in 3D's van

"Stop reading it then" said Daphne with a smile

"It's not the contents, it's actually quite interesting. It's a review of the role that the damsels-in-distress genre played in European fictional literature between the 17th and 19th centuries…"

"Velma" smiled Daphne

"Sorry Daph, what troubles me is that the book is marked as coming from 3D's library,"

"So?" questioned Daphne

"We didn't find a library in that place we were taken to; neither have the police in any of the other areas we identified from his computer data" continued Velma.

"So… that wasn't his lair?" said Daphne

"That's what the evidence would suggest" said Velma a bit glumly

"Have you decrypted all the data"

"Not yet, should be in a day or so. It should be waiting for us when we get back from the course"

"Perhaps we should alert Jennifer" suggested Daphne

"Good idea, I'll drop her a line now and see if she can spare us some time after the course to discuss this. I'll also ask Fred and Shaggy to check the data and pass it onto the authorities if it gets decrypted while we are on the course"

"Sounds good to me, you all set for tomorrow?" asked Daphne

"That reminds me, I've been working on some new cloths for us to wear on the course as the notes said we needed to be prepared."

"Without asking my advice?" asked Daphne, this was not good news.

"Relax, they look exactly like the stuff we wear at the moment, just upgraded" she replied

"Still not good news" muttered Daphne to herself as she followed Velma to the side room of her lab. Daphne tried to listen but she found the constant stares from her and Velma's decoys rather unsettling. Even worse were the decoy heads of Shaggy and Fred on the bench nearby.

The girls set off for the course early in the morning taking the pick-up. The conversation veered between their up-and-coming weddings and the course. After a while Daphne grew quiet and just stared out of the window.

"You're quiet Daph, are you OK?" asked Velma

"Just thinking, Velms" said Daphne "Just thinking how far we've all come in a such a short time."

"Daphne please, you know I don't like talking about my head injury" said Velma

"I know you don't, I didn't mean it like that Velma. I'm thinking way before that. It just doesn't seem all that long ago we were still at school chasing people dressed in alligator costumes."

"Gator Ghoul? You thinking of inviting some of the early cases to the wedding for old times sake?" asked Velma.

"Jeepers, I can picture it now, rather than bride vs groom the church is split good-guys vs bad-guys? No, I don't think so. I do hope none turn up." said Daphne getting worried by the thought.

"Well the police will be providing some covert protection just in case we get any unwelcome guests. I've asked them to shoot Gibby Norton on sight." said Velma dryly.

"You haven't! Have you?" asked Daphne in surprise

"No, but it is a tempting thought. I'm going to apply for a restraining order to keep him away from us a month either side of the ceremony." Velma sighed sadly "I wouldn't put it past him to either disrupt the ceremony, try something to stop me or Shaggy getting there or ruin our honeymoon."

"He wouldn't dare!" said Daphne angrily

"Well, if he does he's in for a surprise, from me" said Velma "He's yet to experience my angry side, you know, the dark side of the Dinkley"

"But Velma, you're better now, you're over all that... aren't you? You've never said anything…" said Daphne in confusion _I wish she wouldn't call it that_ she thought. Daphne still couldn't get used to Velma joking about the after-effects of her head injury.

"Why haven't I said anything...? Only Shaggy and my mother know why, and now you know it too. Aside from reminding me of the hurt and upset it all caused which is bad enough, the plain truth is… I never really recovered, that's the real reason why I don't like talking about it. The Velma we all knew before the attack is as dead as last year's flowers."

Daphne gasped "But, but Velma, I thought... you're just like... I'm... I... I didn't notice... should I have... I'm sorry if..."

"It's better you know than guess" interrupted Velma before Daphne got too upset "All the things that drove me to hide in my lab, the rage, the anger, the violent tempers, throwing myself any half way attractive man... it's all still there. What I learnt to do is to channel and harness it. That's why I took to using Fred's punch-bag and I'm such an aggressive hockey player now..."

"We've noticed" said Daphne quietly

"And Shaggy..." smiled Velma

"...is the most appropriate person for you to be inappropriate around" said Daphne nodding her head. It was so obvious now Velma described things, why hadn't she seen it?

"He's _so_ appropriate Daph, especially when he rescues me" chuckled Velma "I just save it all up till then. And before you ask he was in my sights before the injury."

"But what about when you haven't needed rescuing for a while? Neither of us needs rescuing that much these days." asked Daphne now agog with curiosity.

"Weeeell" said Velma coyly

"Yes? Yes?" said Daphne on the edge of her seat

"Well, that's for us to know... and you not to find out" smiled Velma

"Meanie!" sulked Daphne

Velma bust out laughing, Daphne joined in a few seconds later

"Never mind Daph, I may not seem all that different to you, but to me I feel different to how _I_ remember myself. Still I have found it useful in cases from time-to-time plus Shaggy enjoys the attention and I enjoy giving him the attention."

"Well you sure scared those goons who grabbed us at the convention and 3D's face was priceless" said Daphne smiling with the memory.

"That really threw him; it was a good idea of Fred's for me to overact so much... Hey, we're nearly there"

_You weren't overacting though_ Daphne smiled to her self. "I hope there is more to this course that sitting in a course room looking at slides" said Daphne


	4. Daphne and Velma Go Back To School

A few minutes later they pulled into a small industrial area at the far corner of which was a nondescript brick building. Outside the building was a sign 'Pitlane Foundation HHSD Course' in the colours and font used by the Pitlane Foundation. They were met by a tall striking woman dressed in a smart business suit. She walked towards them and introduced herself

"Ladies, I am your instructor for the day, my name is Dr Dorothy DeStrauser. I am so pleased that you could make it" she said shaking each of the girls warmly by the hand as they introduced themselves.

"Daphne Blake"

"Velma Dinkley"

"First of I need to offer a slight apology, my assistant was taken ill this morning so I may need to ask for some help from each of you from time to time. I hope that will be OK?"

Both girls agreed.

"Good, we are still developing this course which is why you are the only ones here as I would appreciate your suggestions at any point in the proceedings."

Again both girls agreed.

"Great, lets get some coffee and snacks and get down to business" said Dr DeStrauser leading the girls inside to a small meeting room. At the far end was a whiteboard/projector screen; against one wall was a set of coffee pots and plates with assorted biscuits and cakes. Against the other were a set of newspaper clipping and some stills from films showing classic distress scenes. On the table were a selection of chains, padlocks and restraints of various kinds. Daphne looked at these, all were labelled with historical information and details about how to pick them. They all helped themselves to some refreshments and settled down at the front of the room.

"To start off with I would like you to fill in this questionnaire as I know both of you have had far more experience in these areas that your average heir and heiress. There is a section at the back where I would like you to describe the situations you have found to be the easiest and hardest to escape from." DeStrauser handed out the forms and some pens. Both spend half an hour filling in the forms, drinking coffee and eating the snacks. Daphne looked over to Velma and sighed, as ever Velma was finished before she was and had written more than her, it was just like every exam they had ever sat together through school and college. Velma looked quizzically at her "It's nothing Velma" said Daphne. Velma shrugged her shoulders and tuned to face the front.

DeStrauser collected the forms. "Excellent ladies, now I would like you to try you hand at lock picking. First I will go through the basics using some large cut-away models then you can try you hand at the real thing. So after half an hour of theory and demonstration the girls spent the next half hour attempting to pick various types of padlocks, handcuffs and similar restrains, first when then just on the table in front of them and then whilst being locked in them. Whilst the girls practised DeStrauser read the forms and made some notes. After a five minute break it was onto ropes and knots for an hour followed by a discussion on the general principles of escapology. After a comfort break and more coffee there then followed a discussion on the psychology of the villains and victims. Daphne could see that Velma was very interested, they were taking quite an academic approach to matters. Daphne was starting to get a little bored, she wanted to get onto some more practical exercises.

"OK, the session before lunch will be a bit more light hearted, but with a point, we will look at various scenarios and identify the signs that the person should have noticed to tell that they were in potential trouble, well start with a couple of classic Black and White films..."

Before the girls knew it the session was over "I liked that Dr DeStrauser, I thought the introduction of humour helped make the point. So far I'm quite impressed by the amount of ground we've covered so far." said Velma

"I'm glad you have found it worthwhile so far, after lunch we will move out into the rest of the building for some more practical exercises. The next session takes part in the basement of the building." said DeStrauser "I will go and set things up while you have lunch." DeStrauser went and returned with a trolley full of food and drink.

"So this is where things get more practical and serious?" asked Daphne who was less impressed by the classroom side of things than Velma

"Yes Daphne, deadly serious" said DeStrauser smiling as she left the room "See you in the basement."


	5. A Pressing Problem

"Now we come to the final escape test before we move onto some evasion exercises. This one has an element of real peril and will concentrate on your escapological weakness. The task is to free yourself and, if necessary, save your friend. What you will see is a TV picture of each other on which will be simulated the walls closing in. When the lines meet a tank of green goo will be released onto the victim."

"Ewwwww" went Daphne and Velma simultaneously then laughed.

"Now Velma, you find it hardest to escape when tied to a chair with your limbs attached to their respective arm and leg of the chair?"

"That's right, last time I was like that it took me, what was it Daph? About half a day to get free." replied Velma

"That about right Velma, though that was some time ago and you are much better at getting free now." replied Daphne encouragingly.

"And Daphne, you have the most trouble freeing yourself from mummification or similar"

"Don't remind me." replied Daphne.

"Velma would you help me prepare Daphne, it's safer if there are two people doing it and my assistant is ill today."

"Well, if it's OK by you Daph" replied Velma

"Do your worst Dinkley!" pouted Daphne "I will escape your fiendish trap" both girls laughed. Velma pushed Daphne towards her room

Lying on the floor was a mess of canvas straps. "Now you see why I need an assistant" said DeStrauser

"And an instruction manual" said Velma

Velma and DeStrauser straightened out the contraction There was a long thick piece of canvas about the Daphne's height every few inches straps came off at right angles.

"Safer and quicker than bandages on a person as it guarantees the neck is completely free, they don't overheat and the person can be freed in seconds if necessary" said DeStrauser making the final arrangements.

"I see how it works, come on Daph, lie down"

"Remember Velma, you are not her friend at the moment, you are her captor and want to ensure she doesn't escape"

"Oh no! I have been captured by the evil Professor Dinkley and will be made to wear orange sweaters forever!" laughed Daphne as she lay down as directed

"Right, no more Miss nice Dinkley" said Velma failing to get the joke "Put you hands over your head Miss Blake or I will make you eat Scooby Snacks at your wedding breakfast"

Daphne gave Velma a sour look then put her hand over her head and Velma and the doctor started putting the straps down the length of Daphne's body. Velma started from the top and the doctor from the feet. The straps for the torso had additional straps which Velma concluded were for the arms.

"How you doing?" asked Velma when they had finished the first part of the job. Daphne gave a little wriggle.

"It's not too bad, it's certainly not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be" replied Daphne "It's like those mummy sleeping bags."

_And you can't get out of one of those in a hurry either_ thought Velma "Well come on arms by your side Miss Blake, there's no hope for you now" said Velma trying to get in character.

Daphne complied and Velma proceeded to strap each arm against her body. Daphne was a little bit worried, Velma was doing he straps quite tightly, perhaps she shouldn't have made the joke about orange sweaters.

"All done?" asked DeStauser

"Yes, let me just check that her circulation isn't impaired" said Velma. She leant over and squeezed each of Daphne's hands in turn. Daphne felt Velma press her hands against the side of her skit. Daphne felt a small hard object on each side. Daphne remembered, Velma had hidden some escape tools in their clothing, these were small box cutters, Velma raised her eyebrows.

"Oh help me, please help me!" said Daphne wriggling on the floor winking at Velma "oh what will become of me! Please be merciful with me Professor Dinkley!"

"Do you run any acting courses?" whispered Velma to the doctor as they gazed in pity at Daphne's acting

"Unfortunately no" she replied "Still, this should help matters" she said brightly and produced a large purple ball-gag

"Time to sit you up Daphne, we can't have you squirming all around the floor, you might hurt yourself and avoid the goo, and that won't be fair on Velma. We will attach you to a small hoist which will keep you on your feet and in the goo zone"

Together they helped Daphne sit up. DeStaruser lowered some more canvas straps from the ceiling and attached them to the front and back of Daphne's torso straps.

"Ok Velma, apply the final piece of her captivity" said the doctor

"Bet you have wished to do this to me for ages" said Daphne opening her mouth

"Well the thought has crossed my mind from time to time" said Velma as pushed the ball gag into Daphne's mouth and buckled it in place

Daphne popped the ball out "Come on Velma, this is your only chance to silence mmmph"

Velma buckled the ball gag tightly in place "Perhaps I'll borrow this for you to wear at my reception. That way I decide what stories people hear about me" said Velma with a wicked grin on her face. Daphne mummphed in protest Velma bent down and held her hand to her ear

"What's that you say Daph?"

"MmumMUmmumm!"

"You say you'll be happy to wear it!"

"MMM! mUMumU! MMM! MmumMM! mmm!

"Glad to hear it"

"MMMMMMMM!"

Daphne was raised up till she was standing on her feet. "Your turn now Velma, don't worry we have showers, spare clothes and cleaning facilities here. Even if you get covered, you'll be fresh and clean in no time." Velma walked to the door and gave Daphne a quick wave then walked down a short corridor towards her room. As DeStrauser left she pushed a button and a large part of the wall in front of Daphne slid back to reveal a TV which showed a picture of Velma's room, containing just a chair, and she could hear the sound of Velma entering the room. DeStrauser then pressed a button on the hoist control and raised Daphne a foot off the ground, all the straps tightened. _Jeepers, ow this is really uncomfortable now... wait, she did that whilst Velma wasn't looking, something isn't right here_ thought Daphne. DeStrauser turned and gave Daphne a wicked smile. Daphne was sure she'd seen that smile before, her yes opened wide in fear when she remembered who it was, the next second the door was closed.

Velma walked into her room; it was identical to Daphne's except that in the centre was a solid looking chair attached to the floor. On the plus side, the chair looked smooth and well made _no splinters for me today_ she thought. The body, arms and legs were wood and were sculpted to take a human form; along each side of the arm rest and front legs were triangular metal flanges which Velma concluded were for the ropes. Her thoughts were broken by DeStrauser entering the room and closing the door. She pushed a button which revealed a TV showing Daphne's room, this time there was no sound.

"I see Daphne is starting to get into the spirit of the exercise" said DeStrauser looking at Daphne writhing to get free.

"Sure looks like it, Jinkies is she trying hard or what?" replied

"That's the point of the exercise, you have to take it seriously, the goo can give some sense of urgency, but you have to supply the rest yourself. Now it's your turn, please sit down" Velma sat down in the chair and DeStrauser handed her an orange ball-gag, "As tight as you did Daphne's its only fair"

"MMMMMMMM!" screamed Daphne and shook her head as she saw Velma gag herself, then tighten her gag then sit passively in the chair while she was quickly tied to it. Arms to each arm rest and legs to each chair leg, soon her lower arms and legs are virtually mummified in rope. A few extra turns of rope round her wait and all was done. "Thank you for not cheating by staying relaxed Velma, I must confess I am most impressed by how well both of you are entering in the spirit of this exercise. I look forward to reading your report on this course, if you survive that is."

_What did she mean by survive? _ thought Velma

"Well, I'll leave you to your fate, as you have both been very cooperative, I'll make the walls close in slower than normal. Oh I forgot to turn on the sound so you can hear each other" Then walked of laughing as Velma tried to figure out why Daphne was making so much noise. A few seconds later she could see the wall makers on Daphne's monitor begin to move, suddenly Daphne was having hysterics and began to throw herself around, _overacting again_ she thought, then she heard a noise in her room, she turned her head to see the actual walls of her room slowly move towards her. Then it hit her, that was 3D's laughter. She joined Daphne in the hysterics and violent struggling a moment later.

Daphne fought to get the box cutters, she could see Velma throwing herself around as best as she could, but Daphne knew she wouldn't get free any time soon. For the umpteenth time she was glad of Velma's forward planning skills as she recovered the hidden tools. Daphne then began to carefully cut through the canvas strapping. It was slow going as she didn't want to cut herself or drop the cutters. Daphne glanced at Velma appeared to be trying a different approach to getting free and was working on just one arm, _don't give up Velma_ thought Daphne _we'll beat him_.

Velma saw that Daphne was making headway through the straps. _That's it Daph, keep going and don't panic_ she thought, _now all I need to do is not panic myself. _ Velma forced herself to stop and be calm, she visualised the chair, the flanges and the ropes J_inkies! That's it I don't have to do anything for the time being. I just need to wait and conserve my strength _she thought, _which will be easier said that done_. Velma looked at the walls and estimated that she could rest for a minute or so then her hypothesis would be put to the test. Daphne looked up, one of her arms was nearly free, but she didn't think she would be able to get herself free and get to Velma in time. It appeared to her that Velma had given up, then she noticed that Velma was not panicking and appeared to be studying something, she must have a plan. Daphne was now working on the straps attaching her to the hoist, cut those and she could hop out of the room. As the walls closed in on Velma's chair she put as much strain on the ropes as she could. A few seconds after that she felt some give, she pulled against them as had as she could. The metal flanges were pushed in and... there! One of her arms was free, then she felt the ropes slacken elsewhere. She reached for her hidden box-cutter and soon was free As she reached the door she could hear the chair being to crack and splinter under the strain. She opened the door and ran down the corridor into Daphne's room. Daphne stared at her in shock, Velma grabbed the hoist controls, lowered Daphne to the floor, unhooked her then dragged her into the connecting corridor.

Velma ripped off her gag then removed Daphne's. They both set to removing the last of the strapping.

"This is no training session Daph. It's 3D and he's trying to do us in, for real!"gasped Velma, her voice shaking "I'm sorry for strapping you in so tightly, I nearly..."

Daphne held Velma tightly, "You didn't know, I didn't know, I would have done the same to you. The point is we're free."

Suddenly 3D's voice boomed from a hidden loudspeaker in the corridor causing both girls to jump slightly. "You may be free, but you have not escaped, and you never will. I have planned for the possibility that you would escape. I'm glad you have, it's nice to have an opponent who is as almost as clever as I am." Both of the doorways were blocked by the walls. "Up there Velms, looks like an air-conditioning duct, it could be a way out" said Daphne pointing at a large grille in the ceiling.

"I agree, thought I doubt it will take us anywhere but where 3D wants us to go" replied Velma as she helped Daphne up to the grille.

Daphne popped the grille open, it was just big enough for someone to get through, as was the ducting. "That's convenient, too convenient" said Daphne as she pulled herself up. One inside she leant out of the grille hole and then helped Velma up. There was only one way to go so they went that way. They went up a slope and concluded that they were now on the floor above. After more climbing they reached the end of the ducting with a grille as their only way out. The girls shrugged at each other then removed the grille and lowered themselves down. They were at one end of a corridor with black and white floor tiles laid in a chequerboard pattern, towards the end it looked like the corridor made a turn. At the far end was an emergency-exit type door with an illuminated exit sign above it..

"I'm guessing we're expected to run for the door marked exit" said Velma

"Yes, let's _not_ do that" replied Daphne.


	6. TipToe, TipToe Oh No!

"Well Velms, as Fred would say it's time to make a plan. Remember all those 'B' moves you've watched over the years. What can we expect?" asked Daphne

"Tiles as triggers for traps, probably a pit with spikes, swinging blades, darts or arrows perhaps. We should try to look out for other triggers" said Velma "3D has a particular style, so something oddball as well"

"Trip wires, light beams, big rolling stone ball sort of thing?" suggested Daphne

"Possibly, let's move carefully, testing each tile before we put our weight on it" said Velma "Age before beauty" she said indicating that she wanted Daphne to go first.

"Gee thanks" replied Daphne as she began to gingerly move down the corridor.

Daphne and Velma carefully inched their way along the corridor. Daphne held up her hand "Over there, a hole on one side of the corridor and an identical one on the other"

"Well done Daph, there is another set a foot or so above that, what do you want to do?" said Velma "Hang on a second, look there are some nozzles in the ceiling either side of where those light beams are. This looks nasty."

"Lets go back and trigger it from a distance" said Daphne

The girls retraced their steps, laid flat on the ground and pressed themselves into the side of the wall, Velma took off her jumper and swung it along the wall so it triggered the trap. Instantly jets of flame shot down from the nozzles in the ceiling, and for good measure at waist height along the length of the corridor. Both girls screamed slightly, Velma felt that it was the most logical thing to do at that moment. A few seconds later it was all over, he girls stared at each other

"Jinkies!" exclaimed Velma

"Jinkies? Just Jinkies? Try Jeepers, Zoinks, Jinkies and rhu-oh-Raggry all rolled together" replied Daphne who looked a little frazzled "I wish Fred had a saying."

"OK, let's not deliberately activate any more traps" said Velma "I've concluded that it would be bad"

"Genius!" said Daphne sarcastically.

They made their way past the optical triggers and resumed their progress down the corridor, even more carefully than before. They were about half way down now and had managed to avoid a couple of traps when Daphne gently trod on a tile and felt it give ever so slightly she held up her hand Velma crept forward, they knelt down and examined the tile. Velma lifted up her glasses and peered closely at the tile "It's cracked, looks like it's broken in and slightly depressed" she replaced her glasses. "Shall I press it in?"

"OK" said Daphne, both girls got down low. Velma pressed the tile it cracked and fell away into darkness; she then put her hand through the hole and checked that they were on solid ground. They proceeded to knock out all the tiles on their side and a few along each edge, several feet of the floor in front of them fell away sinking into a white substance.

"Well, there's the pit" said Velma

"And there are the spikes!" shouted Daphne as spikes started to shoot out of the walls behind them

"Time to go" shouts Daphne and she went back a few paces, ran for the pit then jumped. She landed safely on the other side and turned to help Velma, "Come on, quickly Velma!"

Velma went back a few steps then did the same as Daphne, she landed a couple of feet short of where Daphne landed, the floor under her gave way to reveal a smooth steep slope. Velma flailed her arms in attempt to keep her balance but failed and fell backwards into the pit, sinking instantly into the white substance.

"Velma!" screamed Daphne "Velma!"

Daphne stood there frozen to the spot, she saw some movement and thought she saw a few fingers appear out of the white substance but they had gone by the time she got there. Daphne lay down on the floor and reached down as best as she could and not slide down into the pit. She fished around where she had seen the fingers. Velma had been down there almost a minute, time was running out when all of a sudden the sleeve of Velma's jumper, with one of her trainers tied to it, splatted on the ground next to her. Daphne grabbed hold of the jumper as tightly as she could then tugged it gently she felt two tugs back and replied with two tugs. Daphne held onto the jumper as tightly as she could as Velma began to climb out. When she was out Velma sank to her hands and knees coughing, spluttering and gasping for breath.

"You catch your breath, I'll clean your glasses" said Daphne removing Velma's glasses and trying to clean them.

"What is this stuff" asked Daphne as she tried to get the glasses clean.

"It's very finely whipped cream" coughed Velma "I know I swallowed loads of it. It's deadly and not just to you arteries, you can't swim in it, and you certainly can't breathe it.

Glad I wore a T-Shirt today" she pulled the shirt up and wiped her face clean as best as she could.

"You OK now?" asked Daphne a few minutes later

"I guess so, thanks for cleaning my glasses" replied Velma "Shall we get going?"

"Yes come on then" said Daphne quickly walking ahead. Velma noticed that a couple of panels above Daphne's head had opened. There was not time to shout a warning so Velma leapt at her and pushed Daphne out of the way. The next second Velma was engulfed in statue spray.

"What are you..." shouted Daphne as she almost fell to the floor "Oh" she said when she realised what had happened. Daphne turned and stepped on another tile which depressed slightly, Daphne ducked for cover as Velma was sprayed again with statue spray, she now looked more snowman than Dinkley. Daphne took another step, there was another click, Daphne threw herself to the ground again, this time Velma was engulfed in jets of flame.

Daphne could hear Velma's screams, "Drop and roll Velma please drop and roll!" she shouted through her tears. A few seconds later the flames stopped and there was silence. The most terrible silence Daphne had ever heard.


	7. The Appliance Of Science

Daphne forced herself to open her eyes; she had to help Velma no matter what. She looked around, expecting to be greeted by a scene of unimaginable horror. What did bunt flesh smell like? Should it smell of cookies? Daphne looked where she had last seen Velma, she was greeted by the sight of a freshly-baked snow-Dinkly glowering angrily at her

"Velma!" cried Daphne getting to her feet

"Just stay still and don't move" shouted Velma "don't even breath loudly. And above all, don't touch _anything_. I'm fine, I'll be with you in a minute or two."

Daphne was stunned "How?"

"This stuff acted as ablative, just like the heat shields they used on the Apollo missions. Judging by the smell it's made from some form of starch" replied Velma

"But it sticks to you" said Daphne

"Not if you've been dipped in whipped cream beforehand. That acts as a release mechanism" replied Velma, her voice strained with the effort of trying to get free,

There was a snapping noise as Velma started to break out of the statue spray. A minute later she gingerly stepped out and dived for where Daphne was.

"Now if you'll excuse me Daph I think that after all of that I'm going to have a quick panic-attack" said Velma as she curled up tightly into a ball, closed her eyes, began to breath rapidly and started to shiver. Daphne tried not to look at Velma, she had never seen her act like this, not even when clowns were around. They had all had the jitters from time to time; she, Shaggy and Scooby had all been too scared to move at times but Fred or Velma were usually the ones to break them out of it. Even Velma could overcome her fear of clowns if the need arose. After about 5 minutes Daphne noticed that Velma's breathing began to ease and her body relax, finally she sat up and stretched. "Sorry about that Daph," said Velma quietly, Daphne was just about to reply when Velma spoke again "Please don't tell anyone, only Shaggy has seen me have one, not even my mother knows. Gosh, I haven't had one of those for ages." To Daphne it seemed like Velma had just woken up from a nights sleep after nothing more than a strange dream.

"I'm sorry Velma I didn't know what to do" said Daphne softly

"You did the right thing; you stayed calm and were quiet. I just need to know that there is someone there. Remember when I first had my bad times when I was just out of hospital and wouldn't let even Shaggy into my lab? I could spend hours like that, but just knowing that he was there outside my lab door helped me so much." Daphne looked shocked, she knew Velma had had a rough time when she first came out of hospital, but she didn't know it had been this bad. Velma paused for a second then smiled "You promise to be together for better and for worse, well he's already _been_ with me during the worst. Not just promised to do, but actually _done_. I can't wait to be married to him; he's already fulfilled his wedding vows before he's taken them. Oh well, come on Daph, lets get moving."

"Just like that" said Daphne in surprise "Velma, you go from being nearly roasted alive to pouring your heart out, to something unbelievably touching and romantic to business as usual in a few seconds?"

"Yes, I feel so much better now, they kind of re-boot my brain. But I won't be having baked-Alaska any time soon" smiled Velma.

Daphne decided not to press the issue, she was glad that Velma did not seem mad at her for nearly getting her fried a few minutes earlier. Soon they were at the junction with another corridor, the exit door just a few feet away.

"Well it would seem that all we have to do is to push the bar, open the exit door and just walk out." said Daphne

"Want to bet it will lead to a permanent exit? And from more than just this building." said Velma

"Still it would be worthwhile trying it, just in case it is a real exit" said Daphne

"Hmmmm, yes, it could be a bluff of some kind, though I don't want to be there when that open bar is pushed" said Velma

"Me neither. We could try pushing it with that statue spray mould of yourself" suggested Daphne.

"Excellent idea Daph. If we weight the end so that it will hit the bar we can let it fall and hopefully be down the other corridor before it hits." replied Velma.

The girls proceed to implement their plan. Daphne carefully examined the new corridor, there were no signs of any traps. Velma collected her statue and some tiles from near the pit. After a short bit of assembly work their makeshift door opener was ready. The plan was simple, let it go then run away down the other corridor as fast as they could. Daphne held onto one end of the statue.

"OK Velma on 3. 1... 2... 3!" said Daphne

Velma ran as soon as Daphne got to 3. Daphne let go of the status and ran as fast as she could after Velma. They heard the statue connect with the bar. Neither stopped to turn around, they heard the sound of metal sliding, something being sprayed, then a hissing sound which increased in pitch.

"Something's malfunctioned!" shouted Velma as they neared the end of the corridor

"Wha..." said Daphne, then next second there was an explosion. Both girls dived for the floor as a wave of pressure and heat washed over them. This caused the end of corridor wall to come loose and fall down in from of them revealing a hidden door. The girls picked themselves up and ran for the door knocking it open. They dashed inside, slammed the door shut then stood either side of the door and caught their breath.

"At a guess, there was a problem with the flame spraying system" said Velma "Either that or it was designed to scare us senseless before we got blown to pieces"

"The scaring part worked" said Daphne

"Oh yes, but I'll pick scared to being dead any day" replied Velma

Daphne looked around "What is this place?"

"Looks like some form a production line and storage area. Hmmm, look Daph loads of canisters, this must be where he makes that spray stuff" said Velma as she walked into the area.

"Well looks like we have to find a way out of here" said Daphne trying to open the door they just came thought "this door won't open"

Daphne joined Velma as they explored the room, There were a few machines, some canisters and a huge number of paper sacks

"I think we are in his part of the building. If we're lucky we could find his actual lair and deal with him once and for all" said Velma hopefully

"You are getting warmer Miss Dinkley, soon you will both be getting much warmer" boomed a voice from loudspeakers dotted around the room. Both girls jumped at the sound

"I wish he would stop doing that" said Daphne "What did he mean by getting warmer?"

"Look up Daph, heaters, many, many heaters" said Velma "It's going to be unbearable in here soon"

Daphne looked up into the angry glow of a ceiling full of heaters. She looked down "Over there Velma, I think I can see a way out" said Daphne pulling Velma with her. In one corner they found a small opening about 3 foot wide and 5 feet hight, this lead into a short corridor about 5 foot long at the far end there was a similar opening though which they could see a door. From the opening there was a 4 foot drop to the surface of the corridor. The only problem was that this surface was water, the real floor was another 6 feet down. There was a very slight slope at each end with any useful edge rounded out.

"Well..." started Daphne

"Don't even think about it. See how shiny the surface is at that end is? It looks like it is covered in some form of oil, you'd never be able to climb up and..." said Velma kneeling down and examining the slope at their end "...yes, there Daph some small holes all along the top of the slope. I'd say that as soon as you got in the water you would have oil coming out from here"

"Well perhaps we could ...OW!" cried Daphne as she felt along the exposed surfaces. "Razor sharp spikes, they stick out a couple of inches. We could try coating them with that statue spray. When it's set we could ease ourself along the corridor"

"Good thinking Daph! Let's see how much spray there is available" replied Velma and they set off to see what was there. A few minutes later they had found only two full canisters.

"No luck, wow it's getting hot in here" said Velma wiping her brow

"You said it, lets look around some more before it gets too hot to do anything" replied Daphne.

Daphne was off re-examining the canisters to see if they had missed any full ones, on the far side she could see Velma examining the large number of sacks piled against the wall. Velma was muttering to herself.

"Cornstarch from the Ninja Cornstarch Factory prop J. Hyneman, hmmmm. That rings a bell." she muttered then clicked her fingers "Jinkies, that's it! We can walk on the water"

Daphne just stared at her "Have you got whipped cream poisoning? I don't get it Velma"

"This is cornstarch Daph, all we have to do is mix it with the water and we'll have a non-Newtonian fluid" replied Velma "I've always wanted to try this"

"So?" asked Daphne trying to get Velma to join the dots for her.

"A non-Newtonian fluid behaves differently than a classical Newtonian fluid. On impact it becomes solid, stand still and you'll sink slowly, keep moving and we'll be OK. If we keep moving we can walk on the mixture. Lets move as many of these sacks as we can to near the entrance now before it get too hot, it will provide us some shelter from the heat while we work"

For the next half an hour the girls lugged the sacks over then begin to empty the contents into the water.

"Well I've about had it" said Velma

"Me too, is it done yet?" asked Daphne

"Pass me that empty canister" said Velma. Daphne rolled it towards her, it was no almost too hot to touch

Velma pushed the canister onto the water and watched it sank slowly. "Almost. If we use the statue spray on the surface then put down all the empty sacks on top that might give us a runnable surface. I'd say it's now or never." Daphne sprayed the surface with the spray and Velma got all the empty sacks together. They threw a load in front of them and grabbed the rest and got ready "Once we start, don't stop" said Velma "Ready?"

"No, but we have to go" said Daphne as she lowered herself down and threw the bags in front of her and she ran. Velma did the same. Daphne reached the end and jumped through the hole, she spun round and helped Velma up. Both lay on the ground for a while cooling off. Finally they got up and opened the door. Another corridor, this one had carpet.

"Well unless he has a very good cleaning service, I'd say we don't have to worry about spikes, statue spray or flames" said Velma as they walked carefully down the corridor. They got to an open door. Velma looked inside, her eyes opened wide and her face lit up "Oh wow" she said as she walked inside "It's a library, it's 3D's library"

Daphne sighed, _oh great now we'll never get out of here_ she thought as she followed her inside


	8. Volume 3 The Dangerous Damsel

(A/N thanks to Jazzola, SpongeAddict and Loonytunecrazy for the feedback)

"I knew my hunch was right, _this_ is his lair, not the last place" whispered Velma. They proceeded to check the room for traps or hidden doors, satisfied that there were none, Velma started to look at some of the titles and Daphne checked her phone.

"We must be close to the outside, I'm getting an intermittent signal" whispered Daphne

"Just look at some of these books, this must be where he gets all his trap and peril ideas." said Velma

"What have you found then?" asked Daphne

"The Care and Distressing of Damsels, A Bluffers Guide to Damsels, Damsels and Damsons the autobiography of a gardening villain, Wicked Schemes and Plots - a Field Guide and The Silence of the Damsel" Velma paused for a second "I wonder if I can get a library card for this place"

"Yes great" replied Daphne. She began to scan the shelves "So we have How to deal with Heroes and other pests, Applied Trap and Torment Construction, A damsel a day - a guide to healthy villainy, Matching Distress - A guide to selecting the most appropriate peril for your damsel and there's a copy of a magazine called VQ -Villains Quarterly – which has a feature article on stove-pipe hats."

Daphne took Matching Distress of the shelves and looked through it. She recognised some of the predicaments she had been in over they years "Someone has put a lot of thought into this, way too much thought if you ask me"

Velma mused for a few seconds "Well Fred might like the ones about traps. Hey, there's a computer over here. Forget the books for the time being, you start trying to get a signal on your phone and I'll try to send a message."

Daphne wandered around the room trying to get a steady signal on her phone and Velma sat down at the computer. She quickly wrote a piece of script that would search through the local network and try to find an external connection. Once found it would send a message to the house which would alert the boys to the fact they needed help. Once that was done she looked at the books on the table next to the computer. It was clear that 3D was busy writing his magnum opus simply entitled Damsels. There were two volumes of the work on the table, a third was being written up on the computer, Velma couldn't resist having a read of the next chapter of his work entitled The Dangerous Damsel.

"Listen to this Daph 'Whilst most Damsels fall into the helpless, hopeless or clueless category there is a small minority which fall into a category which, from the villains perspective, can only be described as Dangerous. This category contains two broad sub-types, the mentally strong - able to out wit and out think the villain and the physically strong - able to escape and fight-back.'"

"That's us, we rock" says Daphne coming over for a quick look. The girls gave each other a high five then Daphne wandered off to try to get a signal in the far corner of the room.

The writing on screen began to get smaller, Velma leant forward, gripping the arms of the chair "...The former can be dealt with by playing on her tendency to become focused on one thing and not pay attention to her surroundings..." there was a sudden clicking noise "...Zoinks!" exclaimed Velma as she found herself locked to chair by torso, wrists and ankles.

Daphne smiled, "Zoinks? Jeepers Velma you've only been engaged to Shaggy for a few months and you're sounding like him already." Daphne turned, her smile faded when she saw the concern in Velma's face and her struggling to move "Velma, what's wrong?"

"Help me Daph, I've been strapped to the chair"

"Danger prone Dinkley" whispered Daphne to herself as she came over to help.

All of a sudden the text on the screen got larger "The physical kind can be dealt with by using knock-out gas. Don't help me Daph! Just get out of here! Now!" shouted Velma. Daphne turned for the door only to see it slam shut. Daphne tried to open the door but it was immobile, there wasn't even a keyhole on their side. There then came an ominous hissing sound from various places in the room. "Daph, cover your face with your scarf, it contains activated charcoal it. will.. let... you... breathe...nnnn" Daphne held as much as her scarf over her face as she could as Velma slumped unconscious in the chair. Daphne pulled the neck of Velma's sweater over her nose and mouth as best as she could, that also contained activated charcoal.

Daphne looked again at the door, then she had an idea. She took a pen from the desk and used her shoe to drive it into the door hinges knocking out the metal pins. Once this was done the door opened easily. Daphne dashed back to Velma and pushed her chair out of the room and down the corridor. She noticed another door, this one had a window next to it with what looked like natural light coming through. Despite her scarf, Daphne could feel herself getting sleepy; the scarf was not intended to replace a gas-mask and knock-out gas was being pumped into the corridor as well. 3D's voice echoed through the corridor. "Feeling faint Miss Blake? Your scarf has helped you avoid the knock-out gas for a while, but it won't work forever." and he started playing a lullaby over he tannoy.

Daphne got to the window; she held up her phone, there was a weak signal. She stood on Velma's chair, the signal was good now, she held down three buttons on her phone, a few seconds later it vibrated, She began to feel unsteady on her feet so she left the phone on the window sill. A minute later it buzzed again, Daphne summoned what strength she had and tried the door, she was not surprised to find it locked, Just as she succumbed to the effects of the gas her phone buzzed a third time.

"_Zoinks! And double Zoinks! Fred!" shouted Shaggy putting down the phone  
"What's up?" said Fred as he came running up from Velma's lab. Shaggy noticed he had a worried look on his face._

"_That was Jennifer; they don't run any courses like the ones the girls are on. She's on her way here to help us look for them"_

" _I know, I've just checked the stuff Velma was working on. The address they have gone to is 3D's real lair!"_

_Just then an alarm sounds and their mobile phones buzzed, Shaggy looked at his "Triple Zoinks, it's a mayday message from Daphne, same location as in Velma's data"_

"_Rhu-oh-Raggy" said Scooby_

"_C'mon Scoob we've got to move" Fred, Shaggy and Scooby grabbed what they thought they might need for a rescue mission and ran for the Mystery Machine._

The door opened, a masked figure stepped in and pulled a low-slung cart to where Daphne lay then lifted her onto it. He pulled the cart to where Velma was sat, freed her from the chair and placed her next to Daphne. A simple strap was used to make sure neither of them fell off. Once that was secure the figure pulled the cart through the door whistling a happy tune.


	9. A Peril Made For Two

Daphne slowly came to. She sat up and waited for her head to clear, looking around she could see that she was in a large empty room, the only obvious way in or out was a hole in the ceiling; she guessed about 20 feet above her. As her eyes got used to the dark she could see Velma lying on the floor a few feet away. She crawled over to her and started to shake her awake, eventually getting a response

"Mmmm not now Shag, just 5 minutes more…"

"Velma!" she shouted, her voice echoing around the room, _metal walls_ she thought listening to the quality of the echo.

"Daph? What... what are you doing?" said Velma almost going back to sleep

"Come on Velma, get up, we're in danger"

"I'll try Daph"

Daphne helped Velma up; she knew she'd be groggy for a while after breathing in so much knock-out gas.

"So, I finally have you, the two most sought after damsels. Are you ready for your distress?" smiled 3D looking down at them through the hatch.

"You won't keep us for long, the boys will find us" shouted Velma becoming slightly more with it

"As soon as you make a ransom demand, my father will..." stared Daphne

"Who said anything about ransom? I have no intention on ransoming you, though I will be conducting a private auction of your effects later. No my dears, my simple motive is revenge. I will send flowers to your widowers" he laughed. With that he closed the hatch door. It wasn't as wide as the hatch; there was gap of several centimetres either side allowing some light into their prison. They then heard the sound of welding; the area opposite the hinge grew red then began to fade

"NO!" both girls shouted

"Oh yes!" shouted 3D. The next second water started to pour in from above.

"OK! I'm awake now!" yelled Velma as the reality of the situation hit home.

The water rose rapidly. Within a couple of minutes it was at knee height. Both girls rushed around the room, pounding on the walls, feeling on the floor for a possible weak spot or hidden door. Nothing. Now the water was at the top of their legs. In a few minutes they would have to start swimming. Velma took off her jumper in readiness for the last swim of her life. With all hope gone they held each other hoping against hope that they would be rescued or they could find some means of escape. The water was now up to Velma's waist "Guess I'll be treading water soon" she said sadly.

Daphne stared at the metal walls in frustration "There's nothing in here, we can't reach the hatch and there's no way I can pick a weld. At least the last time you were held by a madman you had a whole science lab to work with"

"What did you say?" said Velma

"When that guy tried to force you to do those experiments, and you started to make explosive…"

"That's it Daph, you're a genius…Oh boy, am I in trouble"

"What? More trouble than we are in at the moment?"

"Possibly"

"How?"

"You know these are the same trainers that I wore when we visited Polly in her lab"

"Yes"

"You know her boss took these trainers away then returned them to me a while later and I never said why?"

"I think so. Yes I do remember"

"Well… he had the soles filled with C-4 plastic explosive, the laces are the detonators. I forgot to give them back"

"How can you forget you were wearing explosives? Oh wait… Shaggy" said Daphne giving Velma a knowing look.

Velma nodded and shrugged her shoulders "I was a little distracted at the end of the day"

Daphne rolled here eyes "Well, don't just stand there, let's blow out way out of here"

"We can't use it now, the shock wave would kill us, they won't need body bags they'll need a sponge, we can't reach the door at the top yet anyway. We need to wait till there is enough water for you to reach the door" said Velma

"What! Why me? I've never touched the stuff" asked Daphne

"You work it just like modelling clay. Anyway your arms are longer than mine" came the obvious reply

"Won't the shock wave kill us then?"

"Not if we dive deep enough, a shock wave in air doesn't couple well with the water"

Velma lay back in the water while Daphne removed her trainers.

"How much do you need to use?" asked Daphne looking under the soles at the off-white material.

"Better we use all of it, I'd say we won't get a second chance at the rate this water is rising and we need an air gap between the explosives and the water" said Velma.

They worked the C-4 into a 3 long sausage shapes. The one for the weld contained most of the explosives. Before they knew it Daphne was able to reach up and touch the hatch. She worked the C-4 in and around the weld area, pressing a thin strip down the middle of the door then into hinge area and the hinge.

"Put the detonators in the weld area, hopefully that will blow the weld first and the connecting strip will help force the door open and the area around the hinge will either be blown off or at least render the door useless" said Velma. "I'm going to activate the detonators, are you ready Daph?

"I think so" replied Daphne nervously

Velma activated the detonators and passed them to Daphne who embedded them into the weld area as instructed.

"20 seconds to go. Fire in the Hole! Deep breath then dive." shouted Velma when Daphne had finished. Both girls took a deep breath and dived as fast as they could for the bottom of the tanks and covered their ears. All that was left on the surface was Velma's jumper. It was briefly silhouetted by a flash of light.


	10. Requiem For Knitwear

Even under nearly 20 feet of water the explosion was deafening but there was now a satisfyingly large hole where the hatch had been and they appeared to be alive and in one piece. They gave the divers OK signal then headed to the surface. Velma helped shove Daphne out of the hatch, she the helped Velma out. Both stood there, bent over catching their breath, they looked at each other and grinned, neither had felt so alive.

"Man I love that stuff" said Velma.

Both girls looked at the battered remains of Velma's jumper as it floated through the hatch. It was just about wearable, but beyond repair "Think this has had it" said Velma sadly as she picked it up. Their requiem for knitwear was interrupted by 3D bursting through a door. He looked at the girls in utter disbelief, at the large hole in ceiling, then at the girls again. They turned to face him, neither was in the mood for any more tricks.

3D knew it too, he grabbed a large canister of statue spray and emptied it at the girls, Daphne leapt to one side while Velma held up her jumper to protect herself. Daphne looked at Velma, her face was red with anger, she'd only seen Velma this angry a few times before, _this is going to be interesting_ she though.

"This was my favourite jumper!" Velma shouted stomping towards 3D, "It was knitted by Shaggy, it took him ages." She flung it to the ground then reached down and grabbed a small plank of wood that had fallen from the ceiling, "This isn't a hockey stick, but it'll do me fine."

Daphne smiled as Velma set about 3D, he was faster than her, just, but Velma was more agile. She cheered Velma on but began to quickly get bored, this was no spectator sport, she noticed another canister of statue spray and went over and picked it up.

"Hey Velma, tag me!" she shouted. There was no point in letting Velma have all the fun. Velma herded 3D past Daphne then tagged her. Velma stopped and caught her breath then started to cheer Daphne on. Velma decided after a while that it was time to bring things to a close. Fun as it was, 3D was still potentially dangerous, she used the plank of wood to tip him up allowing Daphne to cover him in statue spray

"What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" said Daphne as she stood triumphantly on top of the immobilised 3D.

"My turn Daph" said Velma bringing over another canister of statue spray. Once that was used up and dry the girls sat down for a rest on top of 3D..

"I think my mayday message got through, I'm sure I heard the phone buzz 3 times" said Daphne

"I hope so, if it did then the boys should be on their way" said Velma "Though I think that way would be safe for us to go as 3D has not long come out of it"

"Let's just wait for a while, I think we deserve a rest before we wander anywhere else" suggested Daphne, Velma nodded in agreement.

After they had caught their breath they decided to leave. Daphne found a hand trolley and wheeled it over then she and Velma hauled 3D onto it then wheeled him out of the door.. They could see daylight up ahead and sure enough when they tuned a corner they saw a set of windows along one side of the wall, with a door marked exit at the end.

"Been in something like this before" said Daphne

"True, but I'm sure 3D doesn't want to be done in my one of his own traps, plus that is the outside, we'll push him ahead of us I'm sure he'll let us know if there is a problem" replied Velma

They got to the door without incident; from the window they could see part of the car park. They opened the door and walked out into the fresh air pushing their prize in front of them, secretly each of them breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"I'm getting to like shopping" said Velma looking down at their cart

"Let's put our purchase in the pick-up and contact the boys" laughed Daphne

They had just got to the pick-up and lowered the tail-gate when they heard some sirens, they looked around and saw a small convoy of vehicles, 3 police squad cars, the Mystery Machine and 3 blacked-out 4x4's. They stood and watched as the convoy sped towards them. Soon they were surrounded by vehicles. The police and members of Jennifer's close-protection detail got out first followed by Jennifer, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby.

"Quick Fred, I need help! Did you bring my conditioner and a hair dryer? My hair will be ruined if it dries like this." shouted Daphne as Fred got out the Mystery Machine. Velma sat on the back of the pick-up truck and held her head in her hands, then she realised that Daphne was laughing.

"Honestly Velma I'm not that bad, but still I'm first in the shower when we get home" laughed Daphne

"We passed the course!" shouted Velma as she embraced Shaggy "Look who we picked-up on the way." she motioned at the figure on the trolley.

"I don't believe it" whispered Jennifer "How did you do it?"

"Nobody messes with Velma and Daphne!" said Shaggy proudly as he hugged Velma.

"I think you'll find it's _Daphne_ and Velma" smiled Fred.

"Velma and Daphne" muttered Shaggy

"Daphne and Velma" replied Fred quietly

While this was going on Daphne, Velma and Jennifer just stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders

Velma noticed that the police had just about finished extracting 3D from the spray and remembered that as they had finished the course, they were missing one thing.

""So, when do we get our certificates?" Velma asked 3D as he was pulled clear by the police. To everyone's surprise 3D replied

"There are no certificates but I will give you, Miss Dinkley, one thing. You may have my library. I heard your comments and saw your face when you found it so I know it will be safe in your hands, I doubt I will see it again for some time"

"Thank you" Velma replied quietly

"You are welcome" replied 3D as he was put into the back of a police car

"The Pitlane Foundation will have it all catalogued and sent to you Velma" said Jennifer

There was one more question that Velma needed to know the answer to "Fred, do we have room in the van for a just a _few_ books for me to read till then?"

Now it was Daphne's turn to put her head in her hands.


	11. Bitter and Twisted

The cases came and went as the time ticked down towards their weddings. They provided a welcome distraction to the gang from the near infinite list of things that apparently had to be done before their weddings could take place. Finally they were just a few weeks away, the restraining order had been obtained, cakes ordered, dresses hired, venues book and so forth. Everyone was working towards putting the finishing touches on things. Coolsville itself was beginning to gear up for the event, it was the closest thing the city had had to a society wedding in ages and a good excuse for a bit of a party was not going to be missed.

In a small factory on the outskirts of Coolsvill another figure was also working to the same deadline. They often worked late into the night, first by them selves but with an increasing number of helpers as the days progressed. As the time grew closer to the wedding so did his sence of indignation and injustice. If they wouldn't see the sense of things they would be made to see sense, He looked at the documents from the Coolville court, a restraining order? How could she do this? He rationalised that she had been forced to do this by her meddling 'friends', she really didn't want him banned from Coolsville did she? No, that was impossible, but what hold did they have over her? He suspected some form of hypnotism or mind control drug. Well whatever it was he would save her from them, from herself, then they and the rest of Coolsville would pay for keeping them apart. Once saved, the scales would fall from her eyes and she would see him for what he was, and see them for what they were. They were not her friends, they were the jailers. He had briefly considered snatching her away from the alter, though she would appreciate the romantic gesture he had to accept that he was no Errol Flynn. As there would be Egypt's Prince Omar at the ceremony it was possible that the Secret Service would also be there and he didn't think he would be able to deal with them all.

Of course he would have to break whatever conditioning they had put her through. After much study he felt he had found the most humane method of breaking that conditioning. She would suffer, slightly, but the rewards for both of them were worth her suffering. Afterwards she would be grateful and cherish her suffering as proof of his love for her. But that suffering could be nothing compared to the horrors that must now be inflicted daily on her; he pictured her locked away in her 'lab' as they called it. It was no lab it was a torture chamber where they broke her will day after day, but he knew she resisted them and had kept part of her mind and heart pure for him, for it could be no other way. It was less than a month to go before she would be forced into that act of monstrous blasphemy so he had to act soon, she would be married on that day though, then all of Coolsville would kneel before them and then they would rule together.

Tomorrow he, no _they_ would get their revenge. Soon Coolsville would be no more and a new perfect city would be rise. He looked over the army of his obedient followers, an army growing larger by the hour, they were almost perfect, and tomorrow they would be made perfect.

(A/N So we end with a bit of a teaser to the final story of the series – _I Am Legion_. It's well under way and should appear in a month or so. Many thanks to Jazzola, SpongeAddict -ThE PiNk PwInCeSs- and loonytunecrazy for their feedback)


End file.
